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Sunday, October 14, 2012

Petal Power is a Real Pattern!

The hubs and I decided to make a quick run to the flea market this weekend since we were home and lately I have realized that a little thrifting may be an excellent way to add to my Vera Bradley collection. Two years ago I was given a travel accessory bag and zip I.D. case in purple punch.

Up until that point I had a love hate relationship with Vera Bradley bags, or really labels of any kind. I'm not a hipster, just not rich. I went to a private Christian Jr. High and High School where most of the kids came from wealthy families. My family wasn't poor by any means, but I was there because it was Christian, not because it was private. We had to wear uniforms but that made labels stand out even more. Shoes, back packs, jackets and jewelry were all we had to express ourselves with. I remember when Tommy Hilfiger took over my church youth group. I didn't have a job because my parents wanted me to be a kid as long as possible and I thank them for that. They weren't mean either, but there just wasn't money to spend on designer clothes. So, I decided that wanting to have a lot of things because of what brand they were just wasn't a practical thing for me. I think that having that mindset as a teenager saved me a lot of angst.
Don't get me wrong, I never lacked for anything growing up. My dad did buy me the much coveted Sketchers and Converse (shoes, and Dad buying something, were an exception to my self-imposed no labels rule), but besides the uniforms, most of my clothes were "consignment" (the nice word for thrift-store), hand me downs, or Wal-mart. I was really happy when my mom discovered Target.

Once I graduated high school and started working and paying (some of) my own bills, shopping was a true pleasure. It is definitely still on of my vices if I am not careful. Thanks to my mom I will still never pay the highest price on the tag though. I always go straight to the clearance racks. These days who doesn't? But those first Vera bags? Well, lets just say, sometimes labels can be nice.

A little after that Christmas I decided to buy my first Vera Bradley purse with some of my Christmas money, a cross body, also in Purple Punch, on clearance of course. It's a nice bag and one I know I will keep for a long time. The following Christmas my mom decided that a Vera purse was what she wanted so my Dad and I went and got her one. She loves it so much that she has used it for 10 months straight. When my daughter was born and I stopped carrying a purse altogether. I just put everything I needed in the diaper bag. A few months ago I found this backpack at a yard sale for $1 and it finally confirmed my decision that it was time for mine and my daughter's stuff to part ways. And thus, the hunt for thrifted Vera Bradley began. Besides the first bag I also found a ditty bag for $2 in need of a little repair and then yesterday, my latest find.

Looks fake doesn't it? I was super excited when my scanning eyes finally found their prize among the flea market tables. It was marked $5 but I offered $3 and they took it. Never hurts to bargain in that setting. Looking it over, "Vera Bradley was plainly written on the front.

There was also a tag on the inside, but it didn't look like the tags on my other bags.

When I got home I looked online at how to stop a fake and most clear differences were how the zipper pulls were supposed to be, (mine didn't have any) and how there was always a different lining fabric. Mine was lined in the same fabric as the outside. I did a little more searching and somehow came up with a name for the pattern - Petal Power. Searching for that gave me a lot more results but all of them on E-bay or similar sites, and people were still debating whether or not this was an actual pattern. Finally I got smart and decided to e-mail the company. Success! It is real. It was a limited edition pattern and thus not listed under their retired list. Moral of the story? When in doubt, go to the source.